I have to say: this is a pretty cool flag.
I got the rainbow version hanging outside, it is pretty awesome.
Lol, TST doing the Lord’s work (I got jokes) yet again.
TST are not the ‘good guys’.
The two owners of TST are:
- Lucien Greaves - long, text piece.
- Malcolm Jarry - text piece.
Content warning: quotes contain discussions of racism, ablism, eugenics, fascism.
Or if you prefer video, DeadDomain has some of the same receipts
Is it possible that the deeds of the organization have grown beyond those of the flawed creators, and turned into something that actually does good simply by being opposed to a greater evil?
Or do we throw the baby out with the bath water?
They own and control the organisation so its not really possible to separate them. Its up to you if you’re happy about supporting them - there are plenty of other orgs you could choose to support though. Some mentioned in the first of those links.
In the context of this lawsuit, the TST are definitely the good guys.
They’re clearly the ones fighting for religious equality over theocratic bias.
TST isn’t a cult of personality. Hail yourself. Hail Satan.
The Satanic Temples tenets:
I One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
II The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
III One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
IV The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.
V Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.
VI People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
VII Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
It literally is a cult of personality. The two of them own and control all aspects of it.
I am a Satanist, and these two people have virtually no effect on my life or local chapters.
TST is helpful and I hope they keep fighting for everyone’s right to religious pluralism, long after these two have retired.
I am also a Satanist and they have no direct affect on me either. That doesn’t change the fact that what they do and how they use their power, including how they treat members and ex-members, is, in my opinion badly wrong.
From what I can see the claim they fight for religious pluralism is very ambiguous. They’ve certainly lost a lot of court cases but I’m not sure how that’s helped anyone.
In the context of freedom FROM/of religion in the U.S. and this article, they are definitely the good guys. They are a necessary spoiler in the religious+legal system.
I very much appreciate this backstory you posted, as I hadn’t looked into the people who lead TST. Jarry tried to co-opt a cult? Bizarre. It really is frustrating how many people suck.
I don’t agree with you in the context of this lawsuit, but I do appreciate you posting those links.
They are very flawed, but I appreciate that they do this important legal work that other organizations like the Global Order of Satan don’t have the resources to do.
That’s totally your call but for, its always been my opinion that the ends rarely justify the means. Especially these means.
TL;DR?
According to the temple watch links for whose veracity I’m not going to vouch:
Jarry tried to paint himself as the embodiment of a prophecied (sp?) religious figure of an indigenous community and is one of the worst kinds of Zionist.
Greaves is an anti-black racist and supports racism and eugenics.
I can;t vouch for the temple watch site itself as I don’t know who is behind it (and is seems dead on the live web) but it is heavily referenced and they seem like pretty good sources to me.
$50/hr
